This is a minor nit, but someone posted here a few months ago that they were going to pull the mahogany wheel from their XJR and replace it with an all leather black wheel as it always bothered them that the wheel didn't match the rest of the wood interior.

That got me thinking, and it unfortunately planted a seed.... and now it bothers me more and more as well. Plus I'm not sure I like the hard and slick wood "feel" in a "sporting" Jaguar.... even though I recognize the heritage of mahogany wheels in sports cars, but I think those wheels of yore weren't as "slick" then and were perhaps oiled versus varnished.

Anyway, I got me wondering why Jaguar didn't use all leather, or if determined to use wood, why they didn't match the wheel to the rest of the car?

I think the later XJRs and Sports did however switch to all leather?


Well, I too am probably going to pull my mahogany wheel and put in an all leather wheel for looks and comfort. I personally think it will match the purpose and style of the XJR better.

Plus my wood wheel has a few tiiiiny ring dents along the top wood section, but due to its mirror slick finish, you can feel every one of them and that bugs the heck out of me. And I'll undoubtedly add to those over time. And the bottom wood section now has a 2 inch long indented "scratch" on the underside from yours truly when his mobile phone ran across the bottom of it... sooooo You really can't feel or see that indentation, but I know its there.

Anyway, anyone else find it odd that the XJR steering wheel didn't match the rest of the wood interior, and/or think a solid leather wheel is a better aesthetic and functional fit?

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Yes, I noticed and was irritated by the brown wheel and un-matching dark XJR trim. My carfax shows that my wheel had been replaced. All the dark trim was badly cracked also.


My resolution was to refinish the dark trim to match the wheel. Now my cracks are gone and everything matches.

 

I would've preferred all wood or all leather as well....but maybe the wood/leather combination was just in vogue at the time? I dunno. I would've liked a slightly thinner rim as well....but that's just me. My arthritis is actually less painful when I can more fully wrap my fingers around the wheel!

As for the mis-match of wood.....well....I reckon whoever was making wheels for Jaguar couldn't or wouldn't supply a match. And Jaguar apparently didn't care

Cheers
DD

 

The steering wheel was available in the typical walnut, all leather and the dark bird's eye maple to match the XJR. But in jaguar fashion, nothing is normal. You get what ever they decide to put on at that particular moment.

 

Al - what color is your interior? Perhaps someone with an XJ6 leather wheel would swap with you.

 

I've never seen a birdseye maple wheel in the dark "gray" for the X300, just the "mahogany". I think even the XJRs with the lighter walnut interiors had the "mahogany" wheel versus the burl of the regular XJ6/VP.

I have seen what appears to be a birdseye for the S type I think... not sure.

 

Maybe, I am looking for the black wheel with the perforated leather which will match the pattern on the XJR seats. I have a line on one on eBay right now.

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For cars with warm charcoal LEG interiors.
leather HNA9181CALEG
leather/walnut HNA9181ABLEG
leather/grey XJR HNA9181BELEG
perforated leather HNB9181ABLEG

 

Thanks, very helpful info.

This makes me wonder: "leather/grey XJR HNA9181BELEG"

I've never seen a "grey" wood XJR wheel that matched the gray birds eye maple trim, but have seen almost all with what I'd call a "mahogany" wheel that is more of a red finish with black staining. And there is no part number above that would seem to indicate a "mahogany" wheel, and the maple wheel looks much different.

So I wonder if the "leather/grey XJR HNA9181BELEG" really is the "mahogany" wheel that most X300 XJRs came with standard?


BTW, it also appears (not confirmed on my part) that an X308 wheel is interchangeable on an X300, but of course one will have to remove the steering wheel radio and cruise button pods or leave them inactive. It appears from photos that one can fit the rear of the X300 wheel shroud to an X308 wheel thus covering the holes that would be left on an X308 wheel where the control pods had been.


And again, this whole topic is a veeeeery minor nit, that clearly is an issue of personal taste. I have to think that Jaguar chose these "mahogany" wheels on purpose, which I think was probably in tribute to the old Nardi wheels one saw on Jags and other sports cars decades ago.

It just doesn't work for me though, again personally. As always, YMMV

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Its funny I just came to the same conclusion concerning Wood/Leather steering wheel.

I replaced mine by a fully leather (cream) which I had in store. I also replaced it in my Xk8 and did the same on my Saab 9000 Aero. (all had the half/half before)

Maybe it is not possible (or too expensive?) to put the correct wood to a steering wheel according the rest of the wood-interior.

Daniel

 

I have seen the dark bird's eye maple wheel on Ebay Uk before.

 

Prompted by this discussion, I dug out my original UK sales brochure for the XJR, dating from 1995. The XJR came with a leather wheel, with wood/leather an option. The wood colour matches the dark dash etc, and the wheel was only available with black leather, regardless of seat colour. In each instance, the wheel centre has "XJR" embossed in it.
Do the mahogany wheels which are being talked about have "XJR" embossed in them?
I would guess that the wheels with mahogany trim are dealer/retro fit to XJRs. Or then again, maybe US market only?

 

On the wish-when everything else is working and when the airbag doesn't, is a real wood wheel from MotoLita. Looks like about $350.00 with a mounting boss.

 

Yep, the standard wheel in the US seems to be black leather with what I'm calling the "mahogany" finish with the XJR embossed on the airbag. I say that only because I haven't seen any other XJR in the states without the same "mahogany" wheel. All leather, non-wood ones may exist, but it seems to be rare if so.


Below is the classic XJR interior I'm talking about, except in this photo the airbag is the standard Jag growler versus the embossed XJR. This photo was probably from a Sport versus XJR, but is the same otherwise. You can see the reddish "mahogany" wheel color clearly in this photo and how it doesn't match the gray/black birds eye maple at all.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...%26_Cream).jpg



Here's one with the all black leather wheel, very sharp looking and matches much better aesthetically and in function as well IMHO.


http://car-from-uk.com/ebay/carphotos/full/ebay6473.jpg


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I have too, but I *think* those were from either an S or maybe the series after the X308?

I haven't seen any for the X300 or X308 yet that are the matching gray maple. If they exist, they are rare.

I'll check the part number on my wheel when I pull it. That will verify if that is the wheel they are calling "grey" or something else.

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In my 2001 XJR I also have the wood/leather wheel. It is mahagony but so much darkened that there is no differenece visible to the rest of the wood. (Thats why I kept it in that car).

All wood-wheels have the same mahagony-wood as far as I know and what I have seen in the XJ and XK.
If there is someone who has an OEM walnut or Birdseye wood-wheel please post pics.

 

Al,
my homespun theory on this goes as follows:
When new, the XJR wood/leather steering wheel matched the colour of the dashboard/door capping etc. Whilst the sales brochure confirms this, on close examination of the picture, it can be seen that the wood on the steering wheel has a different grain from the dash. This makes sense, as the dash is obviously veneered, and the wheel obviously isn't. The wood on the wheel is solid, and the grain has no burrs in it, and seems to run around the circumference. My guess is that Jaguar's wheel supplier simply applied black stain to the wheels before varnishing, as opposed to just varnishing as they would do for "ordinary" wood leather wheels. The wood chosen for the "ordinary" wheels would have been a match for the mahogany dashboards, and hence some way off the XJR colour.
With the passage of time, and exposure to light, the stain has faded, exposing a more red/brown shade than would be ideal given the XJR dash colour.
Just a thought!

 

Just to straighten things up. Everybody on here does different things for a living. I've been in the antique wood furniture restoration business for the last 35 years.


There is NO mahogany on any X300. There are two woods. Walnut burl/crotch and bird's eye maple. The trim pieces are made from consecutive sheets of paper thin veneer cut from the same log. The wood on the wheels are not from the matching log and can vary in color.


Since the trim is paper thin, it can't accept as much stain as the thick wood on the wheel. This may account for a slightly dark wheel. Also, the thin wood on the trim is more susceptible to fading.


The wood on the wheel is laminated from several thicker pieces of wood. As a single piece of wood would not be stable, causing it warp and crack.


The bird's eye maple that Jaguar used is pathetically low grade.

 

Thanks, all good ideas, theories and facts....

Bottom line, in summary, the X300 XJR leather/wood wheels don't match the trim on the X300 XJR now.

Maybe they did when new, but definitely over time they don't One could debate that if they did lose their match over time whether it was the trim veneer or the wheel that changed, but I think an easy argument that it was the wheel could be made as all the trim would have had to darken/fade consistently to maintain their close match, and they do.

But of course, if the wheel non matching doesn't bother one, then certainly no big deal. If it does, it appears the option may be to get the all leather wheel if that is preferred. Or if you are really industrious, I suppose one could refinish the wheel itself!



One closing bit of interesting info; following is a link to the PDF for the 1995 UK XJR. In the UK the leather wheel was standard, with the wood/leather wheel being an option. As noted in some other threads about standard US options, many have come to conclusion that most of the US cars from this generation seemed to come generally fully optioned unless ordered otherwise. Perhaps this accounts for most US XJRs having the wood/leather wheel.

But if one looks at the admittedly very dark photo on page 16 of the brochure linked below, it does appear that the wheel is dark "reddish" versus the gray/black of the XJR trim we see in production.

HOWEVER, confusingly if you look at page 20, the other trim itself has a "reddish" tint *sigh*

Jag-lovers brochures - a 1995 XJR/ XJ Sport Brochure Page

So who knows if the wheel matched as new or not, perhaps, but I will say I can't find a photo of an X300 XJR interior where the wheel did match .... other than the aforementioned brochure, where they seem to match, but not as "gray" but "reddish"

So one could make the case that perhaps Jaguar intended a better match initially, and the pre-prod brochure photos showed matching wheel & trim, but something happened in production where they ended up not matching as closely and it couldn't easily be changed? Dunno.... speculation on my part.


Well, thanks again for all the thoughts on why the wheels don't seem to match. It would have been really cool if we had someone on here that was part of Jag styling and the XJR rollout that could answer what happened, if anything, and what Jag's goal was.


Regardless though, my personal preference is going for the all leather wheel anyway. I was in luck and found a nice perforated wheel from an X308 XJR in "Warm Charcoal" for cheap which I think I'll give a try fitting.

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